Page 84 of Claimed By the Rival Alpha

I took a large bite of my steak. “Don’t tease me,” I muttered around the mouthful.

He chuckled and ate his breakfast more slowly. “Everyone is fine, but they were worried sick about you. They really felt your loss around dinner time.”

I swallowed and smiled. It was nice to hear that the Wargs cared about me the way I cared about them. After days spent in darkness and isolation, I’d started to believe that I had imagined their kindness, or that it had come from pity.

“What about Tavi?” I asked.

Night hesitated, and worry spiked through me. The last time I’d seen her, she had been cuddled close to Dom’s chest, and she had been acting nothing like herself.

“Don’t sugarcoat it for me,” I said. “I want to know the truth.”

He nodded. “I’m sure this isn’t a surprise to you, but she wasn’t in great shape when we arrived. According to Doc, she’s suffering from wounds that hurt her deeper than we can see.”

I let out a breath. What did those monsters do to my friend? “Have you seen her yet?”

“Not yet,” he said, “but she’s still here in Kings’ territory. Your territory.”

I felt a brief thrill at hearing Night acknowledge that the Kings’ grounds were mine.

“Where is she?”

“The last I heard from Dom, she’s staying in a cabin not far from here, resting. My mom is with her; she arrived today while we were sleeping. Doc is with them, too.”

That set my mind at ease. Though we didn’t know much more about Tavi’s condition, at least Violet and Doctor Stan were with her. I would have been worried about them if not for the fact that I’d seen the way Dom behaved around Tavi. I knew that she and Violet were safe with him around.

“Good.” I finished off my steak and then my eggs.

From the corner of my eye, I noticed Night watching me in that intent, careful way of his, making me feel fragile and precious.

It felt wonderful having so much of his attention, but it also caught me off-guard and made my pulse beat faster.

I was so in love with him I hardly knew what to do with myself in his presence.

I bit my lip, racking my brain for something more to say.

“And how is Violet?” I asked.

“Her Alpha wound is healing. It’ll scar her for the rest of her life, but she should make a full recovery.”

I nodded. It still haunted me—the way her blood had gushed, the sound of her body hitting the ground—but once I saw her, I was sure I’d feel a bit better about everything.

“Oh! What about Pax?” I’d completely forgotten about the pup. He’d tried so hard to save my life, only for him to fall right into Troy’s clutches.

“He didn’t even have a scratch on him. I know he misses you like crazy. The last I heard from his mother, he was picking books from the library for you to read to him.”

I laughed. “I can’t wait.”

“Do you have any other pressing questions, love?”

“Ah.” My face warmed. I guess I wasn’t being as subtle as I’d hoped. “U-um, the garden?”

“It’s doing fine.” He smiled around the top of the bottle and downed a few swallows.

“And Mable?”

“She’s healthy and, like I said, feeling your loss in the kitchen.”

“R-right. Then, um…”

Night laughed, setting the bottle on the nightstand before settling under the covers. He tugged at my arm and pulled me after him. I caught myself on my elbow and looked down at him. He was so handsome, so present, so masculine. He smoothed his hand over my jaw and buried his fingers in my hair.

“You’re adorable,” he said, pulling me down for a long kiss. When he pulled back, his eyes glowed a gentle chartreuse. “I want to have our ceremony soon,” he murmured.

I blinked and tilted my head to the side. “You mean the Alpha ceremony?”

He smiled and shook his head. “No, love, I mean our ceremony. I want to make you mine in front of the Kings, the Wargs, and the whole fucking world.”

My mouth opened and shock trembled through me.

He was serious! I’d seen a wolf ceremony only once before, when Mom and I had prepared the food for a celebration when I was thirteen.

From what I remembered, the ceremony had involved a lot of flowers, tons of food, and mostly homemade gifts from the attendees.

The couple had dressed up for the occasion, as did those in attendance, and there were tons of desserts and dancing.

These celebrations differed from human weddings I’d read about in romance novels; there wasn’t an exchange of rings, the “bride” didn’t have to wear white, and there weren’t any rituals like throwing the bouquet or the removal of a garter belt by a blindfolded “groom.” Still, Night was essentially proposing to me now.

He was telling me that he wanted to show the Kings and the Wargs our claiming marks so they would know that we belonged to each other.

Tears filled my eyes. It hadn’t been long since Night and I had met for the first time, but in a lot of ways, it felt like he’d been in my life all along.

“So, what do you say, Bryn?” he asked.

“Yes! Of course I say yes!” I threw my arms around him, and he laughed, taking my weight.

“You’ve got five days to plan this thing, baby, because I want to make this official the day after your Alpha ceremony.”

That wasn’t a ton of time to plan, but I didn’t care. “Why can’t it happen tonight?” I asked.

“Aren’t you eager?” He kissed me again, longer, slower this time. “I want to give the Wargs at least some time to come see us.”

“They’ll be there, too?”

“Some of them, I’m sure. Everyone has been missing you, so they’ll definitely want to congratulate us.”

“How wonderful.” I let out a long, happy sigh. It seemed like all the pieces of our lives were finally falling together. I was claimed, Night was here, and soon we’d be bound in front of our closest friends.

He ran his hand up and down my side, stirring a different kind of hunger in me. “You’re wonderful, Bryn,” he murmured.

When I lifted my head for another kiss, I tasted an answering hunger on his tongue. I hooked a leg over his hip, and he held it there under my thigh. His skin was so hot under my fingers, it was like his blood was made of fire.

“Night,” I said between kisses. “I want you inside me again.”

His answering laugh was deep and rumbling. “Turn around for me baby and press that ass up against me.”

I turned on my other side, and he pulled me up against him.

I immediately felt his cock pressing to my back.

He wasn’t fully hard yet, but I knew I could fix that.

I ground my ass up and down his length and enjoyed the sounds of his sighing pleasure.

He pushed up my shirt to take my right breast in his hand, while his other hand snaked around my waist to reach down between my legs.

I groaned, biting my lip as he stroked my pussy. His rubbing, caressing fingers moved in an alternating rhythm to the one I used to grind against him. All the while, he continued to fondle my breast and pinch my nipple.

I reached behind myself to take his cock in my hand. I could feel each vein, each twitch, each sticky bead of precum. I wished I could taste the salt of it and feel it melting on my tongue. Just the thought of it sent my first orgasm of the day rushing to meet me.

He latched onto my mark, and each suck and stroke of his tongue sent fresh, shivering ecstasy through my body.

It was so intense, it brought tears spilling from my eyes.

As the sweet aftershock thrummed through me, Night released my breast so he could lift my leg, exposing me to the relatively cool air of the bedroom.

He panted my name as he pushed up inside me.

I cried out at the sudden intrusion, my body stretching for him.

The slight pain only heightened the intensity and pleasure of it all.

He wrapped my leg back around his hip and held it there as he continued to thrust inside and his other hand continued to rub and circle my clit. He nuzzled my neck, sending hot electricity through my body as he brushed my mark.

“Oh, fffuuckkk…” I groaned. “Niiight.”

“That’s right, Bryn, tell me how much you love this dick.” He punctuated the demand with a sharp thrust.

“Ah! Yes! Your cock—it’s too good!” I stretched my arms up and reached behind me to touch him, to hold him even closer. “Night, don’t stop, don’t stop!”

I didn’t need to ask. Those wicked fingers of his teased another orgasm out of me, and as it shuddered through my body, Night flipped us, putting me down on all fours.

He took hold of the back of my neck and pressed me down into the mattress.

He pulled out to the tip and thrust back in.

I screamed, my nails sharpening to tear through the sheets and into the mattress. More tears soaked into the covers.

I felt his own wolf’s claws in my hip and poking into the skin at the back of my throat, teasing the edge of my claiming mark.

Each thrust was an achingly wonderful punishment.

It felt like he was entering me deeper and deeper each time, pushing the limits of my body as far as they could go.

This was Night the Alpha who was fucking me, the man I’d spotted lurking just behind the amused twinkle in his eyes or that wolfish smile.

He had kept this side of him hidden from me for too long.

My only regret was that I hadn’t met this encompassing, delicious man sooner.

I screamed a second time as a third orgasm ripped through me.

His cock twitched inside me as I clenched tight around him, and with a deep growl, he came.

I’d thought he came a lot last night, but that was nothing compared to this.

His hot seed filled me, and kept filling me.

It flooded me until I felt it seeping out from around his twitching cock and down the inside of my leg.

He thrust a few more times until he, spent, collapsed next to me. He gathered me close, and I curled into him. Both of us were panting in the wake of that incredible session.

He caressed the side of my face and lifted my chin to meet his gaze. “Too much?” he asked, wiping a stray tear from my cheek with his thumb.

“No,” I said, luxuriating in the feeling of his cum still dripping from me. My voice was slightly hoarse form screaming, but it would recover soon. “No, it was just right.”

He chuckled and pressed a sweet kiss to my lips. “Then maybe next time, I won’t hold back.”

I gasped. “You were holding back?”

He grinned in response.

A sweet, anticipatory shiver traced down my spine.

If that was him holding back, then I couldn’t imagine what it would feel like when he let loose.

Every time I thought I was close to understanding the kind of man Night was, he surprised me all over again.

My amazing, wonderful, sexy mate never stopped dazzling me.